'The Inside Track on Outdoor Fun'

M.G. went modern with the MGA's sporty instrument panel

Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News

Purists and diehards were aghast when their beloved T-series M.G.s were replaced with the MGA for 1956. This curvaceous new car had an envelope body, a horizontal (rather than vertical) radiator grille, even a proper enclosed trunk! Perhaps most striking for lovers of the sacred octagon was the loss of the TF's characterful eight-sided gauges and its twin-hump cowl. While it may have represented the departure from tradition, the dashboard of the MGA was functional, legible and stylishly sporting.

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Introduced in the fall of 1955, the MGA was initially available as a side-curtain roadster, with a wind-up window coupe following in the fall of 1956. The cars' dashboards were different stampings for roadsters and coupes; while those of the roadsters followed the contour of the cowl and were flat from side to side, those in coupes tucked in at their outermost edges. The pressed steel dash panel was painted body color on all 1500 and 1600 roadsters, save for those in black cars, which were painted to match the interior trim. Twin Cams and 1600 Mark II roadsters sported a more luxurious dash fascia covered in trim color-matched leather-look Vynide, the same finish applied to all MGA coupes. Coupes and Mark II roadsters also received vinyl-covered cowls, while those of all other roadsters were body color-painted metal.
The MGA driver faced a standard four-spoke steering wheel--a sportier aluminum three-spoke version with a wooden rim was a factory option--mounted on a telescoping steering column. Behind the wheel, and almost all within the driver's sight and reach, were comprehensive instrumentation and simple controls.
A paddle-style, self-cancelling turn signal switch was at the far left, with a small, single indicator lamp above. Front and center were two large, highly legible white-on-black Jaeger gauges, the left being the tachometer and the right a 120-mph speedometer. The tachs of pushrod MGAs read to 7,000 rpm, with yellow warnings at 5,500 rpm and redlines at 6,000 rpm. Twin Cam MGAs sported 7,500-rpm tachometers with 6,500-rpm warnings and impressive 7,000-rpm redlines. Between these dials was a twist-knob panel rheostat.
A small fuel gauge was to the right of the speedometer, and three pull knobs surrounded it; the knob marked "F" operated optional fog lamps and was fitted even if they weren't, while the "L" actuated the headlamps. The "S" knob below was pulled to activate the starter. In the center of the dash was an anodized aluminum grille with a large rubber button at its base; the grille would cover the optional radio's speaker if so fitted, while the button was the horn push. In cars with vinyl-covered fascias, the speaker grille and horn button were framed with a chrome surround.
Most MGAs were fitted with a heater, and its controls hung below the center of the dash, nestled in a notch. The heater controls consisted of two pull knobs, the left being the air distribution/fan and the right being the windshield defroster; between them was a horizontal slider that controlled the cabin temperature.
To the right of the speaker grille was a small combination oil pressure/water temperature gauge. It was surrounded on four sides by, in a clockwise direction from upper left, the ignition switch, windshield wiper switch, windshield washer push knob and choke pull. Directly in front of the passenger seat was the optional radio; if one wasn't specified, a handsome blanking plate with a winged M.G. octagon was in its place, this plate often matching the painted or vinyl-covered surface of the fascia. A map lamp was to the radio's right, with a pull-knob control on the far right.
The MGB, which would arrive in late 1962, would sport a crackle-finish dash and a hood that shielded the main gauges from reflection. While this was more ergonomic than the MGA's design, few consider it as handsome.

This article originally appeared in the June, 2008 issue of Hemmings Motor News.